Join Illinois Institute of Technology and WTTW for a screening of The Birth of Gospel, one of 30 documentaries in WTTW’s award-winning CHICAGO STORIES series. The Birth of Gospel follows Thomas A. Dorsey, widely known as “The Father of Gospel,” who wrote one of the genre’s early hits while coping with his grief of the death of his wife and child.

The Birth of Gospel is relevant to Illinois Tech because the campus sits on land once connected to the Stroll, Bronzeville’s famed entertainment district and a vital center of Black cultural life on the South Side. In the 1920s, Dorsey performed in the clubs and music venues along the Stroll as a prominent blues and jazz pianist under the stage name “Georgia Tom” before helping shape gospel music’s emergence just blocks away at Pilgrim Baptist Church in the 1930s.

The evening will begin with remarks by Stacy Robinson, producer and writer of The Birth of Gospel and a live gospel performance. Following the screening a panel conversation moderated by Pam Morris, radio personality at WVON-AM will include Sherry Williams of the Bronzeville Historical Society, Robert Marovich of the Journal of Gospel Music, and gospel vocalist, Queenie Lennox.

The Birth of Gospel offers an opportunity to reflect on the cultural, spiritual, and historical legacy of Bronzeville and the lasting impact of gospel music on Chicago and beyond.

Lead support for CHICAGO STORIES is provided by The Negaunee Foundation and the Jim and Kay Mabie Family.

Additional support is provided by an anonymous donor, TAWANI Property Management, the Walter E. Heller Foundation, Northern Trust, and The Bossert Family Fund at The Chicago Community Foundation.

Support for CHICAGO STORIES: THE BIRTH OF GOSPEL is provided by Brenda and James Grusecki, The Joseph & Bessie Feinberg Foundation, Strategic Growth and Transformation Partners, LLC, and Shure.